


Circle of Trust

by gruuvan



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 05:51:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12248280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gruuvan/pseuds/gruuvan
Summary: In Chapter I of Circle of Trust, we look at the beginnings of Tim Drake's time as Robin, his relationship with Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, his friendship with Bruce Wayne/Batman, and the complications of it all.





	Circle of Trust

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is very light on the adult themes, but still contains themes of non-consent and humiliation. Reader discretion is advised.

_ Circle of Trust 1 _

  


_ As the Bat-Family’s ‘Circle of Trust’ grows and expands, _

_ And the bonds between its members deepen, _

_ The threat of loss grows with it. _

  
  


_ Winter. _

  


_ The coldest one that Tim Drake could remember. Probably colder than a lot of people could remember. It was also his first one wearing a tight-fitting armored - and not particularly warm - outfit in a painfully garish red and yellow. He’d been working with the Batman and Batgirl for the last few weeks; a sort of interview to see if he was fit to join the team. Unlike Batman’s previous sidekicks, Tim wasn’t invited - he invited himself.  _

_ It hadn’t been easy to figure out that Bruce Wayne was the Batman, and that his girlfriend Barbara Gordon was Batgirl. They’d been dating for nearly five years, since junior high, when he had finally put the last pieces of his puzzle together and realized their identities.  _

  


“Come on, Tim! I  _ really _ have to go!” Barbara Gordon laid back in his bed, covered only partially by a white bed sheet and her own long, red hair. She kicked playfully as Tim held her jeans hostage, playfully taunting.

“ _ Come on _ yourself! Your… what is it, kickboxing instructor?” She played at being offended, her mouth coyly agape at Tim’s prodding.

“He’s more of a  _ mentor _ , and no! I can’t keep him waiting, my lessons are important! To keep me safe from creeps like you!” She let out a playful giggle and leapt at Tim, snatching her pants back and losing his bedsheet in a motion so fast that it surprised Tim. Barbara kicked back on the bed and started pulling her pants up her slim, attention-grabbing legs. Tim went red in the face; even having dated Barbara since they were kids, her stunning figure still caught him off guard and left him vulnerable.

“Wow, uh, Babs, that’s not fair!” He settled back at the bottom of the bed and appreciated all of Barbara while she finished buttoning her pants. She swung around and leaned into Tim, pushing her modest chest practically in his face.

“What’s not fair, is me having a boyfriend who is so dumbstruck over some boobs!” She giggled again and pushed her breasts back and forth over his face, which seemed to be growing more red by the minute. Tim reached up, easily cupping one in each hand and giving a small, teasing squeeze. Barbara nearly squeaked and pulled back hesitantly. “If I don’t go soon, Tim, I’m not going to go at all… I’m just going to end up back on…” Her eyes drifted down to his waist, now only covered by the bedsheet she had moments before. 

“And if you do that, I’m just gonna keep you here even longer… Guess you should get going.” Tim rolled over to the edge of the bed and started pulling his own jeans on from the floor. He looked over his shoulder, Barbara already heading for the door. “You know, I … I love you, Barb.” She stopped, frozen a second before turning and facing him.

“I … think you’re a dork, Mr. Drake.” She skipped over to him and placed a cute little peck of a kiss on his forehead. “Tell me again later, ok?” Her smile was warm, but looking for understanding in Tim’s face.

“I’ll tell you whenever you want, Babs. Go on, get outta here - don’t keep your  _ mentor  _ waiting!”

  


_ Perched high over the south slums of Gotham, Tim Drake’s hood did little to curb the biting cold of the winter winds whipping between the dark and foreboding buildings, abandoned in a time that seemed forever ago; when more of Gotham was brighter, and when the slums didn’t exist.  _

_ He’d been training under the eye of Batman,  earning his trust and showing that he was ready to hit the streets with Barbara officially - as Batgirl and Robin. This particular night they’d been tracking a box-truck suspected of ferrying an arms shipment for one Oswald Cobblepot - also known as The Penguin. When the truck went under an overpass, and two identical trucks came out, the young crime-fighters decided to split up and each follow one - and converge on the real target.  _

_ Tim was sure he had the real thing. The truck returned to one of Cobblepot’s known hideouts, though not one the “Bat Family” knew to be one of his armories. High and cold over the building, he chirped his communicator again trying to raise Babs. _

_ “Batgirl, come in - I have the truck, it pulled into one of Cobblepot’s locations. Where are you at?” Static.  _

_ He’d already waited ten minutes for her, and it was unlike Barbara to go radio-silent. He had to do something and this truck was his only lead. He considered briefly paging Batman before pulling his grapnel gun and swinging towards the deceptively dark building below. _

  


He had suspected for a few weeks that there was something more to Barbara’s life than she was telling him, but he hadn’t been able to put the clues together exactly. She often had bruises or small cuts and scrapes in places you wouldn’t expect to get them from kickboxing - or the library, where she spent time that wasn’t with Tim or her “mentor.” He paid attention to every detail, how and what she spoke about, her little tell-tale injuries, even how she moved. 

One day he watched as Batgirl and Batman had been seen by a Gotham News helicopter bounding across buildings in pursuit of some armed thug or another. Although Batman was in the lead and closing in on the thug, Tim couldn’t take his eyes off of the lithe redhead keeping pace behind him. She looked tall and thin, but still much smaller than the Batman. He watched how she moved as the two masked heroes engaged the thug and took him down. Watching her body under the tight leather - or was that PVC - stirred up a familiar warmth inside him, but drew his thoughts to Barbara - he could hardly look at another woman without thinking of his Babs. 

And then it hit him: The long red hair sticking out of her mask, the similar shape, the strange bruises and scrapes, spending so much time with her “mentor” and kickboxing instructor; Barbara Gordon was Batgirl!

_ Tim settled onto the roof of Cobblepot’s building silently, his cape opening and becoming rigid to catch wind and slow his fall to a gentle landing. The roof was quiet and clear, and only one goon having a cigarette was watching over the building’s north fire-escape, probably Tim’s best way in.  _

_ He dropped over the side of the building and onto the fire-escape. The winter winds were loud, and the thug - definitely one of Cobblepot’s guys - didn’t hear a thing; not that he would. Tim approached from behind before calling out over the blowing. _

_ “You know, smoking takes years off your life.” The guy turned around with a startled gasp and threw his hands up in panic. Tim planted his hardened boot sole in the thug’s chest and sent him sprawling against the steel railing of the fire-escape. His cigarette splashed into a tiny firework of embers down his shirt when he landed and, despite the pain, sent the thug into a new panic. _

_ “Then again, so does being one of Cobblepot’s lackeys. What’s going on in the building?” Tim reached down and grabbed the man by his shirt collar, almost effortlessly lifting him to his feet. “If you tell me right now, we won’t have to shorten your life any more tonight.” Of course killing the man was a bluff, but he didn’t have to know that.  _

_ “None of your business, ya prepubescent-” CRACK. Tim delivered a short and purposed jab to the man’s nose, which immediately let a geyser of blood and the sound of bone cracking. Before he could even shout out in pain, Tim closed one glove around his throat and the other around his neck. _

_ “Come on, don’t you want to get old?” He smiled menacingly through gritted teeth at the terrified thug, who went silent for a second before nodding slowly and trying to speak through Tim’s muffling glove. Tim slid his hand away. _

_ “Ok, ok… Cobblepot has guns down there. Lotta guns, and a lotta cash! It’s a store! Come on, let me go, you broke my fucking nose…” _

_ In a quick motion, Tim threw the man chest-first to the opposite side of the fire escape and zip-tied his hands behind him, around the fire-escape railing.  _

_ “Why don’t you wait around? I might have some more questions later.” Tim gave him a mischievous smile and disappeared into the building.  _

  


Tim weaved in and out of traffic a couple cars behind Barbara. He had donned his backup helmet and a jacket he hadn’t worn in years, setting out to follow his girlfriend, Barbara Gordon, to her mentor - the Batman! After a short drive across town, Barbara turned into the Wayne Plaza parking structure with Tim shortly behind her. 

Tim ditched his bike and helmet near the entrance, struggling to keep up with Barbara on foot as she parked in the farthest, darkest and quietest corner of the parking garage. Hidden snuggly between a car and the wall it was parked against, he watched as Babs approached a dark service-corner with the buildings dumpsters and seemingly disappeared between them. He waited a minute in confusion before emerging from his hiding spot. 

“What the hell, where’d she go?” He quietly walked across the garage to where Barbara disappeared. She wasn’t there.

“Ok, that’s weird.” He kicked one of the dumpsters in frustration. “Ok, think Tim. She obviously didn’t disappear. Your girlfriend’s not magic - I don’t think. There’s got to be a secret door here…” He mused in his mind about how clever it was to hide the Bat lair beneath one of the most well-known buildings in Gotham - someone like Wayne would have so much security that Batman and Batgirl would never have to worry about their enemies getting close - but how did the Batman know Bruce Wayne?

He felt along the wall of the space between the two dumpsters until he felt something move - a hinge. He pushed again a few inches away and suddenly the wall pulled in and the floor between the dumpsters began sinking. He let out a startled sigh and reached to catch himself, but the quickly moving platform was already descending into darkness. A second later the floor gave-way and Tim fell through a pitch-black metal tube and landed quietly on a metal grate in the center of a huge cave.

He scampered behind a nearby crate and took his surroundings in with awe. The massive cave was brightly lit from the center by a huge computer setup, which was itself flanked by two bright displays: The Batmobile on a lit rotating platform and the Bat Plane suspended from the ceiling. Tim narrowed his eyes and focused on two figures in the center. His jaw dropped with shock. 

Batman was standing at the giant computer terminal without his cape or cowl; with his back to him, Tim couldn’t tell who it was. What shocked him was Batgirl: She was putting on her costume while the two of them talked. He slipped closer, being careful to stay silent and out of sight. 

Barbara pulled the tight composite-armor Batgirl pants - worn without underwear, evidently - over her toned legs. She was naked from the waist-up, and had been completely nude just a minute before Tim had arrived, in front of Batman! 

  


_ Tim had worked his way through the building’s old and complicated ventilation system and service spaces until he found his way into the moderately well-hidden secret basement. Already, he could hear the muffled sounds of men talking and what sounded like crates being moved around. As he descended further into the building, the temperature felt like it was getting as cold as it had been outside. _

_ Eventually Tim turned the right corner in the building’s seemingly ancient vent-system and found himself directly above a large room, with clear voices speaking inside. _

_ “You fuckin’ biters; always faffin’ about in no man’s. Gimme yer irons - you’re no Batman! This time, you’ve  _ **_really_ ** _ taken the piss!” A round of cheers and jeers went up around the room, and a loud *thwack* echoed inside the vent shaft. Cobblepot himself was here! _

_ Tim made his way above the room, to the rear behind the crowd and where Cobblepot’s voice was coming from. He found an access grate and peered out; his eyes took a second to adjust to the brightly lit room. When they did, and he could see the room below him, he gritted his teeth so hard in a sudden anger he thought they might shatter. _

_ In the room below, Cobblepot - the Penguin - stood at the head of a room filled with his low-rent lackeys. He stood in front of a long table holding a folded umbrella, waving it threateningly while ranting about something in his cockney slang. Batgirl was bent over the table next to him, her arms tied behind her back and the armored pants of her batsuit pulled down around her thin thighs. Penguin reared back and swatted her across red asscheeks with his umbrella and another cheer rose up over his men. Even from this angle, Tim could see all of Babs’ ass and lips exposed to everyone in the room.  _

_ He didn’t stop to think, or formulate a plan. The anger washing over him was too much, and he had to save Barbara now. He leaned back in the small space and kicked the vent cover with such force that it blew off its hinges and clattered to the floor below. As if at once, all of Cobblepot’s thugs turned and set their eyes on Tim. Cobblepot himself, ready to take another swing on Barbara’s ass, turned in surprise and shouted. _

_ “Who on God’s green fackin Earth are you again? Nonce-bait with an ‘at? Another Boy Wonder? Get him, boys! And you,” he patted Batgirl on her spanked-red cheeks. “Don’t go anywhere! Haha!” Cobblepot hurried as quickly as his short legs would take him, around the table and out of sight, as his room full of thugs closed in on Tim Drake. _

As he came within ear shot, Tim couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Look, Bruce, I know you’ve had Robins before, and maybe guys getting dressed in front of each other isn’t as weird, but… Maybe you should get a dressing room.” Did she say Bruce? As in Bruce Wayne? Barbara finished tugging the sleek, black bottoms of the Batgirl suit over her hips.

“On this team, we trust each other with our lives, Barbara.” Batman turned and, to Tim’s silent surprise, it was Bruce Wayne! The surprise was pushed down and replaced with jealousy, even anger, when he saw Bruce look Barbara up and down in her half-dressed state. Her back was to Tim, but he could see Wayne’s eyes linger on Barbara’s small, perfect breasts. 

“Bruce!” Barbara called out, but she did nothing to cover herself. “I’m sure you and  _ Dick _ might not have had a problem, but I’m a  _ girl _ . I need a little privacy.” She pulled the Batgirl top over her body while Bruce watched. 

“Right, I see your point.” He paused for a second. “I’ll get started on one.” He smiled at her and nodded before turning back to the computer. “Finishing suiting up, Barbara.”

Tim couldn’t take any more. Seeing his girlfriend naked in front of the billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman, was too much. As the question of how long this had been going on crossed his mind, Tim was taken out of the moment. He stood up from his hiding place and walked a straight line for for the two.

“Barbara,” Batman said sternly as the young man approached. “Do you know him?”

  


_ Tim fought hard, disposing of the Penguin’s thugs one after another. Crushing bones, twisting joints, fracturing skulls. Their unconscious bodies littered the room, but still Tim knelt in the center.  _

_ He’d reduced their number to only a few when his stamina had given out. He stumbled and someone landed a lucky blow - then another. It had blinded Tim, how quickly the few remaining criminals were able to bring him down and beat him. For this and his failure to tell Batman where they had gone, now him and Barbara would die.  _

_ “Well, look at this, Bird Boy… You an’ your trouble-an-fuckin’-strife are gonna feed my fives with your blood, and there’s sweet fanny-adams your mangey cheeks can do about it!” He pulled back and laid a sharp smack on Barbara’s bare ass again, a rise of debaucherous laughter coming from his men surrounding Tim. He pulled at the rope binding him, teeth gritted and bared in blood, but to no avail. _

_ “You’re fucked, my son - no two ways about it. Last ‘fing your mince-pies’re gonna see is me knuckles, wallopin into your ‘oly fackin communion!” Penguin raised his fist, crowned with a brass pair of knuckle-dusters. In a surprisingly fast motion for such a short, portly man, he cracked Tim in the jaw. _

_ “Now, feast yer pints on this one, eh? How’s about-” he reached out and connected with the other side of Tim’s face. “I flog your little Stoke-On-Trent ‘til ‘is cock comes out ‘is black country wiv is missus’ mince pies on, eh?” Again, he hit Tim in the face. “Or… how’s about we go all  _ **_gentle_ ** _ like - have a little kiss an’a cuddle while ya merry fuckin band ‘oskin tags take turns over ‘er ripe fuckin’ body?” His thugs all began cheering and a few started crowding around the bound and half-exposed Batgirl. “How’s that sound, me lil’ nonce?”  _

_ Penguin’s twisted face pulled into some horrible grin as his men began circling Barbara. Tim struggled against the ropes as he heard the sound of a buckle coming undone. _

_ “Alright, bitch,” the deep voice of an unseen Penguin-thug taunted. “Let’s see you take  _ **_this_ ** _ -” he was cut off suddenly as the basement’s lights went out and plunged the room into pitch black. _

  


“Tim! What are you doing here!” Barbara screamed just as she turned to see him walking briskly towards them. His fists were tightly balled and his eyes narrowed into slits. His voice was filled with anger, but trembled from it. 

“What am  _ I  _ doing here? What are  _ you  _ doing here? I mean… Barbara. Batgirl?” His voice wavered and he seemed to get even more angry as he went on. “And changing in front of  _ him?  _ I didn’t want to think something was going on, but he’s staring at your tits, and…” Barbara, shocked by Tim’s appearance, finally snapped out of it.

“There’s no changing room, Tim, I was just asking for one…” She looked away shamefully, and suddenly Tim’s anger seemed to melt away. “It’s like getting changed in the gym, except… It’s Batman. I don’t think you have to worry, anyway,” she looked at the Caped Crusader, who was standing silently aside and observing their exchange. “He’d have sex with the concept of terrorizing criminals if he could.”

“Barbara,” Bruce began to defend himself before being cut off by Tim. 

“How long have you been doing this, Babs? Since we’ve been together?” She shook her head, but had a hard time coming up with an exact answer.

“No, it’s been a couple of years though… How did you find out?” Batman cleared his throat as if he was becoming impatient with the conversation.

“I saw you two on the news,” Tim’s voice filled with a certain sort of sadness or jealousy. “And when I saw the way you move in that suit, and your hair… I put it together.” His eyes danced up and down her body, outlined perfectly by the ultra tight-fitting Batgirl suit.

“So I followed you here. Sorry.” Bruce’s expression hardened, the corners of his mouth turning down in a frown. 

“Clearly my security needs work. Now, what do I do with you.” He stared at Tim. “You know our identities, where we work.” There was a tense few seconds of silence as the false implication washed over Tim. Thankfully, the tension was broken by Barbara.

“Let him join us, Bruce.” Both men looked at her in surprise as she continued. “He’s a great detective, I mean, he found us out. He’s strong and fast, I’ve seen him fight at school. And he can learn-” Bruce cut her off, finally unfolding his arms and taking a few steps to the computer’s terminal where his cowl sat. He pulled it over his head where it secured itself mechanically to the rest of his suit with a pop and a gentle hiss from the fine electronics inside. 

“Absolutely not, Barbara. Not just anyone joins this team.” Barbara balled her fists up and marched between the two, almost getting in Batman’s face.

“You trusted me one time, Bruce, now trust me again. With your help, with our help, he can do it. He doesn’t have to replace… No one does, Bruce. Trust me, please?” She was close to Bruce, looking up into his eyes - maybe too close for Tim - but the Batman was studying him. Tim still shook with a sort of anger, but seeing and hearing Barbara and her proposal, seeing Bruce’s body language, set him at a sort of ease. Nonetheless, he crossed his arms over his chest and tried to look as tough as he could in this incredibly awkward and vulnerable position. Batman let the silence hang in the air for an uncomfortable length of time before speaking. 

“Fine, Barbara. I’ll trust you. I’ll test him, analyze his performance, and decide if he can join this team.” he had been speaking to both of them, but now he focused on Barbara. “Tonight, you both go home. To your own homes,” He looked directly at Tim. “And tomorrow, we’ll meet here to begin.”

  


_ Once the lights went out, it was hard to see exactly what the violent shadow, Batman, was doing. As he landed, two or three thugs screamed out in pain and immediately hit the floor as if struck by some kind of magical force. In a blur obscured in shadow, he seemed to fly across the room and send Penguin’s low-rent criminals crashing all around him. Tim couldn’t say exactly how long the entire scene lasted, but it felt like an instant. _

_ When it was done, the sudden silence caught Tim off-guard. He sat fastened to the chair for a few seconds before calling out. _

_ “So… Did you win, Batman?” He always played off nerves with a little bit of humor. As Batman’s large silhouette, with Barbara by his side, appeared outlined in what little light there was, Tim felt his anxiety skyrocket.  _

_ “You didn’t tell me where you were. You could have been killed.” Tim started to explain as Barb walked around behind him to untie the ropes. _

_ “Batman, I’m sor-” he was cut off instantly, and certain emotion came out of Batman’s typically stoic voice. _

_ “Sorry doesn’t bring you or Batgirl back to life! You have to use your heads. Both of you,” he shot an accusatory glance at Batgirl. She had just finished freeing Tim in time to look up and see the disappointed look; as if the embarrassment of being exposed to Penguin and all of his thugs wasn’t enough, now she was being scolded by Bruce.  _

_ “We’ll do better, we promise.” Tim got out of the chair and could hardly resist the urge to give Barbara a hug after the ordeal; he knew Batman would not approve of such a display.  _

_ “Yeah, I’m sorry, and… Thank you, Batman.” He looked at Barbara who nodded and echoed his gratitude. _

_ “Yeah… Thanks.” Batman grunted and turned his back to them. _

_ “Don’t thank me. Get better at this, or it’ll get you both killed.” _


End file.
